CVE-2026-27854 | Use after free when parsing EDNS options in Lua

An attacker might be able to trigger a use-after-free by sending crafted DNS queries to a DNSdist using the DNSQuestion:getEDNSOptions method in custom Lua code. In some cases DNSQuestion:getEDNSOptions might refer to a version of the DNS packet that has been modified, thus triggering a use-after-free and potentially a crash resulting in denial of service.

Published: 2026-03-31 Last update: 2026-04-14 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-27854 is rated Low Risk (19.5/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.01%). Mandatory action: Low composite risk—no urgent action required; patch on your normal maintenance cycle and revisit priority if CVSS or EPSS increases.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-27854

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-04-01 0.01%

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-27854

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.8 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
2.2 2.5 [email protected]
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
3.9 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-27854

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-27854

vendor priority summary link
alpine CVE-2026-27854: 1 source package rows (dnsdist); 12 state rows across 2 repos (3.23-community, edge-community); fixed 0, open 12. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2026-27854
debian end-of-life CVE-2026-27854 end-of-life priority: Debian including 1 source packages (dnsdist), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 3, open 2. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-27854
suse medium CVE-2026-27854 severity moderate: SUSE including 3 source package names (dnsdist, dnsdist-1.9.12-150700.3.9.1, dnsdist-2.0.3-1.1), 15 product×package rows across 15 product lines (SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS, SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-LTSS, … (15 product lines)): Known Not Affected 13, First Fixed 1, Fixed 1. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-27854/
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-27854 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (dnsdist), 7 status rows across 7 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, questing, upstream, xenial): needs-triage 6, released 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-27854

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-27854

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
powerdns dnsdist >= 1.9.0, < 1.9.12 cpe:2.3:a:powerdns:dnsdist:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
powerdns dnsdist >= 2.0.0, < 2.0.3 cpe:2.3:a:powerdns:dnsdist:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2026-27854

cvelogic Threat Intelligence